Hurricane Gustav Finally A Thing Of The Past

Wow! What a LONG week. We have lived here in Baton Rouge for well over a decade and have prepared for many hurricanes and there was nothing new with this hurricane. As a matter of fact, in the past, we were always lucky to just perhaps feel the winds and get some heavy rains from past hurricanes. However, Gustav got Baton Rouge and the surrounding areas pretty good. Though it was not a very strong storm (just a Category 3), it blew trees down like no one in Baton Rouge had ever seen before and caused more power outages than any catastrophe that Entergy Utilities had ever experienced.

Enduring a week of power outage, living on a small generator and a tiny ac window unit was difficult enough with two young kids, but trying to continue to run an international website business was one of the biggest challenges that I have ever had. Our poor postal workers were working in a pitch black office with flashlights accepting packages through a broken door wrapped in “CAUTION” tape.

It has been a very interesting situation, but one that makes you thank God for the wonderful people in the world. Kindness and teamwork just flourish at times like this – people giving and helping beyond anything that anyone would ever see in any given day.

We attempted to keep everything going as well as possible during this situation, however, if you find that you attempted to get in touch with us and were not successful, please try again. Things have pretty much gotten back to normal now, and we feel confident that we can get all answers to any questions that any mom might have.

Thanks for your patience and many prayers from so many that have help Louisiana get through another one.

Breast Implants & Breastfeeding/Breast Pumping

This is a hot topic! Since women aged 19 to 34 made up 50% of the total breast augmentation procedures 2007 with an increase of 15% from the previous year, and women aged 35 to 50 made up 42% of the total breast augmentation procedures. Breast implants are more popular than ever.

With so many women opting for this procedure, it is all the more important that they understand their long term options and impacts of implants.

Many women with breast implants think they can’t breastfeed. Actually, the breast implant does not cause a major problem. Most breastfeeding problems with breast implants occur when the surgery is done with periareolar incision (cut made around the nipple.) Incision placement makes a difference.

Any type of breast surgery or breast injury may affect a woman's ability to breastfeed. Considerations, such as the length of time since the surgery, previous lactation experiences, her support system and numerous other variables are all factors in a woman's ability to produce milk. No matter if the surgery was to augment or reduce breast size, remove a lump or for some other reason, the main concern is whether or not milk ducts and major nerves were cut or damaged.

Researching this topic, I found sites that strongly suggested that there were no problems, to sites that noted a wide variety of problems.

We at GotBreastPump.com are going to do deep research to bring you the best information and resources to support mothers breastfeed and breast pump who have had breast augmentation.

We will continue to cover this topic in our blog, so keep checking back and also email info@gotbreastpump.com or call us at 888-640-2244 with your thoughts and concerns about breast implants and producing breast milk for your baby.

Free Lilypadz Nursing Pads Contest

Congratulations to Liza Dermott. She is our big winner weekly winner of the More Milk Plus Pills. Thanks Liza for sharing with your friends.

This week's contest is for a give-a-way of a pair of LilyPadz nursing pads. The LilyPadz nursing pads are unique in that they are made of silicone and keep your breast milk from coming out, instead of the traditional cotton pads that soak up breast milk. The Lilypadz stick to your breasts so that you can wear them without a bra, while sleeping, exercising, or with a strapless dress. So, hurry and get those emails out to qualify for your free set of Lilypadz.

How do you enter for your free LilyPadz nursing pads: Email 3 of your friends telling them about our website and just place my email in the cc: area like the following:

cc: blogcontest@gotbreastpump.com

If I have received your email, I will let you know by replying to your email. The deadline to get your email out to your friends and myself will be Sunday at midnight, so make sure to get those emails out by then. I will then compile all the entry names and choose at random for the winner.

Good Luck!

Give Up Guilt & Nurture Yourself

Women tend to take responsibility for the happiness of others. While this is not reasonable, or achievable, women really take it to heart.

Mothers, shun your shoulds. We mothers often think we should consider everyone else’s feeling and needs before our own.

Many moms believe they should make their children and husbands happy. The reality is that we have influence on one another but we do not have the power to make anyone feel anything.

Then there are those voices of people from our past that set off the shoulds. Don’t let people should on you. Observe and censor your own menu of shoulds. Being driven in life through unhealthy, and usually meaningless shoulds, can create resentment and serious exhaustion.

End the “should”; begin the nurturing. We all know how to nurture, so let’s apply that beautiful knowledge to ourselves. We support and sustain the whole family, why not ourselves.

Moms, especially those moms with babies and small children need ample rest. Broken sleep patterns due to night feeding take a genuine toll on physical and mental health. So dump the guilt; take a nap if possible.

A couple days a week, find 30 minutes to take a warm, relaxing bath, instead of the quick shower. This act of kindness to yourself is important. When we don’t take care of ourselves, nurture ourselves, we send a message to our families about how we should be valued. If we neglect our needs, others will too.

Guilt defined is: self-reproach for supposed inadequacy or wrongdoing. Does this sound like anyone you know? We feel we are doing something wrong if we nap when we really need rest. We feel guilt when we can’t meet everyone else’s needs.

Get out of the guilt zone. Throw out regret.

Do you remember the golden rule? Put a healthy twist on that rule. Nurture yourself, as you would nurture others.

Free More Milk Plus Increase Breastmilk Pills Contest

Congratulations to Jennifer. She is our big winner weekly winner of the Free Podee Hands-free Bottle. Thanks Jennifer for sharing with your friends.

This week's contest is for a give-a-way of a bottle of More Milk Plus (60). The More Milk Plus have helped so many moms to successfully increase their breast milk. It includes such wonderful herbs as fenugreek, blessed thistle and more.

How do you enter for your free More Milk Plus Pills: Email 3 of your friends telling them about our website and just place my email in the cc: area like the following:

cc: blogcontest@gotbreastpump.com

If I have received your email, I will let you know by replying to your email. The deadline to get your email out to your friends and myself will be Sunday at midnight, so make sure to get those emails out by then. I will then compile all the entry names and choose at random for the winner.

Good Luck!

When Bliss Doesn’t Happen

You’ve just delivered your long awaited baby. Everyone in the birthing room is watching you as the doctor places the bundle of joy on your abdomen. Terribly self conscious, you “act” so happy. But deep inside, the little crying thing on your belly is slimy and making a lot of racket and your head is spinning with confusion.

NO ONE TALKS ABOUT THIS! Why???

We have tall moms, short moms, moms of different colors, different temperaments, different everything, so why not different emotions about birthing?

Society frowns of moms who don’t have bliss for their baby, immediately. Many factors play into the first moments of this relationship.

The physical and mental health of the mother during pregnancy and birth has enormous impacts on the moments following birth. Physical complications with the mother during birthing or physical complications with the baby during birthing, adds potent stress on the new mother.

Nearly 15% of all women suffer from postpartum depression. I don’t mean the baby blues, because 50 to 80% of mothers go through some sort of blues/adjustment. In this case we are talking about mothers who have unspeakable problems, such as feeling they are dying, inability to cope with the demands of a new baby, even thoughts of harming their infant or themselves.

Bliss, this is not! But 15% of mothers are not going to have the bliss, they will not be capable of doing bonding right away, they may not even feel like handling their baby. Families, doctors and hospital staff may not think about this mother’s affliction. She will likely feel like the loneliest person in the world, at that moment.

For those mothers who experience these feeling, you are not alone. If you have prior knowledge of PPD, be sure to keep your doctor aware while preparing for birthing. Family and support people need to know this too, if you feel comfortable telling them.

You will need more help following delivery. Be brave and ask for help from anyone, everyone. Avoid hiding these feelings, they don’t often go away for awhile, and medication and talk therapy can do a lot to help.

Bliss of Motherhood

How is it that a mother can go from the extraordinary physical pain of birthing to the total bliss in less than one minute? This is one of the amazing abilities of a woman’s body.

The second that her baby is placed in her arms, a mother experiences bliss. The smell of her baby, the baby’s sounds, the warmth of it delicate skin against her own creates a temporary womb that she and her newborn are enveloped in.

The doctor can be doing more procedures, the father and family can be rejoicing all ‘round this bonding, but mother and baby have made their first extra uterine contact. The long, long anticipated moment is unveiled and nothing else in the world matters.

Thank goodness that hospitals support and encourage immediate bonding times for mother and baby. How sweet the tenderness of a baby lying on mother’s chest. The baby can smell mother’s milk and instinctively desires and make movements to nurse.

The beatific events of mother giving life, then giving precious nourishment of mother’s breast milk is the most generous design in the cycle of life.

Mothers of the world, rejoice in the largesse you bring to the world.

Tomorrow let’s talk about the moms who don’t get the bliss, since people don’t talk about this awful reality. All moms don’t get bliss.